Samsung unveils Exynos 5: first with ARM Cortex A15, USB 3.0

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Just weeks before IFA 2012 kicks off, Samsung has announced the Exynos 5 system-on-a-chip. It marks a big step forward in mobile processing for Samsung, and the Exynos 5 packs everything required to drive the company’s upcoming 11.8-inch high-definition tablet.

The Exynos 5 is to be the first chip built atop the ARM Cortex A15 architecture when it arrives in a few months. The A15 promises performance per clock that’s 40-60% higher than today’s top A9 chips, and an overall performance increase of about 50%. Samsung’s first Exynos 5 chip, the Exynos 5250, will sport dual Cortex A15 cores clocked at 1.7GHz. Like the Exynos 4, the initial Exynos 5 processor will be produced using Samsung’s 32nm High-K Metal Gate process.

It’s also packing the muscular new Mali T604 GPU, which boasts DirectX 11, OpenGL ES 3.0, and Open CL 1.1 support. The T604 will help deliver WQXGA (2560×1600) resolution support, which the Exynos 5 can do without tapping out its full 12.8GB/s memory bandwidth. 1080p content can be displayed comfortably at 60fps, and Samsung has built in hardware-level support for not only the H.264 codec but also Google’s open VP8 standard. There’s also a special low-power PSR mode that allows the Exynos 5 to reduce power consumption by a factor of 20 while displaying static images (like eBook pages, photos, or web pages).

Wi-Fi Display support comes as standard, and the Exynos 5 should be able to wirelessly pump HD video to external displays at a still-smooth 30fps. And there’s at least one notable update when it comes to wired technologies, too. The new chips can handle USB 3.0 connections, and that’s a very good thing. It could save you a ton of time when loading HD videos onto your new 11.8-inch tablet.

We may see the 5250 pop up in another Samsung device that’s rumored to be arriving soon — the Galaxy Note 2.